In a Flower's Dreams
by Texotic
Summary: Two worlds. One heart. In our world nothing changes. There is no magic, but there is hope while in Sakura Kinomoto's dream world magic is constantly around yet hope only exists in a young princess's heart. At sixteen Sakura is happy to ignore the dream she has been having for years yet when things start changing in the two worlds... hope may be exactly what she needs. M to be safe.
1. 1 Teacher

Hello people! This is my first fanfic so please let me know  
what you think! Good or bad I accept all comments (so  
long as they aren't disrespectful).

Disclaimer; I do not own the rights to CardCaptor Sakura nor CLAMP characters!

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 **Chapter 1. Teacher's Choice**

 _A bell tolled telling all it was the midnight hour. The princess walked out and down one of the many outside halls of the palace dressed in a junihitoe, the twelve layer kimono that identified her as royalty. Why she was wearing it was unknown for rarely anyone visited her reclusive temple like castle built into the side of a mountain but she walked with dignity down the hall, her two guards following her. One like gold and the other like silver._

 _Water rippled in the pond of koi fish, their circling only slightly disrupting the reflection of the full moon and the receding image of the beautiful lady with caramel locks down to her feet leaving the inner courtyard. As the bell chimed cicadas could be faintly heard joining the chorus of the wind and of gentle running water not too far off. The peaceful yet beautiful scenery made Sakura gape in awe as she squatted beside a bush hiding for a reason unknown._

 _As she adjusted herself a twig snapped underneath her causing her to wince and look up hoping it went unheard among the sounds of nature at its best. With no such luck she found the golden guard staring at her as the others continued to walk, his skin tan and eyes shining bright as the stone in the bronze clasp on his ear began to glow red. Startled, the last thing the girl recalled was the face of a giant yellow cat before waking up._

 _ **BI-BI-BI-BEEP! BI-BI-BI-BEEP!**_

The sound of her alarm clock rang loud for Sakura to hear. It enjoyed the challenge of trying to wake the sixteen year old up every morning and sometimes it won while at other times she ignored it and went back to sleep. The clock didn't really like that so five minutes later it would start up again or sometimes even an hour if it was really annoyed with its master, causing the young girl to be late for school.

This morning it was feeling rather generous as our heroine promptly rolled over, moaning and pressing the snooze button. Five minutes later it sounded off once again enticing the teenager to look up at the time and get ready for the day. Rubbing the sleep out of her jade green eyes Sakura did just that. Showering, brushing out her short light brown locks, and dressing in the light blue jacket and navy blue skirt that was the Seijou High School uniform she went downstairs and greeted her family.

"Ohayō gozaimasu!" She called out with a smile, kissing her father on the cheek and stealing a bite of her brother's food.

"Hey!" Touya yelled giving her a noogie as her father responded with a very gentle, "Good morning."

"Go-good MORN-n-Ning Okaa-san!" Sakura choked out to the picture of her mother as her brother continued to noogie her.

Finally escaping she quickly ate her own breakfast and guzzled down her orange juice before heading out the door with her bento in hand, "Itte kimasu!" she called out signaling that she was leaving as she finished putting on her roller blades.

"Itte rashai!" They responded in unison as the door was slammed shut and they cleaned up the meal.

Humming to herself she cheerfully greeted several others dressed just like her as she passed and soon came upon the school gate with a black 1990-2002 Nissan President parked just outside it. ' _Ah!'_ the teenager thought as the back door opened and out stepped a familiar face.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura yelled waving her arm excitedly.

The girl called Tomoyo giggled as the car pulled away and Sakura circled her, "Ohayō Sakura-chan." she responded in kind.

As they entered the school others turned to stare at the duo, enraptured as always by Tomoyo Daidouji's beauty and grace. With greyish-violet hair that fell to her lower back and ended in a wave, porcelain skin, and wide innocent purple eyes many have asked the lady out, for she was a lady, and all were always politely declined. She only seemed to have eyes for her always happy friend and seemed to live in a different world.

As the two chatted and changed into their school shoes they walked the halls free of care all the way to the classroom, "Morning everyone!" Sakura called out while Tomoyo just smiled as everyone returned the greeting. It was like this everyday and had been since the two were in elementary school.

"Ne ne, Sakura, did you hear?"

"Eh?! Don't be an idiot Takashi."

"Hey Miharu-chan!"

The friendly chatter went on as the bell rang and the teacher walked in. First period was homeroom with Terada-sensei and as he quickly settled down the classroom the school day began. A few hours later and the bell tolled once more for lunch.

"Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan! Do you guys want to eat outside with us?" Chiharu asked nodding over to the rest of the gang who were already on their way out the door.

"In a moment! Sensei asked for us to bring the research materials to the lab." Sakura replied picking up a rather large box while Tomoyo grabbed three tubes.

"Okay! We'll be at our usual spot!"

The friends separated and Sakura hummed while carrying the box.

"Ne Sakura, I would have been fine doing the job myself. You could go back with them if you'd like." Tomoyo smiled, "Uehara-sensei said it shouldn't take long."

Sakura thought for a moment but shook her head, "Yeah but with two it should go even quicker right?" she smiled and continued to hum her song.

Gorou Uehara was the biology teacher at the school. He was always wearing a lab coat, had black shaggy hair that covered the tips of his ears, and brown eyes that never seemed to look directly at you underneath a pair of glasses. Most of the girls thought he was cute. Sakura thought he was weird.

Entering the lab she thought he was even weirder when he looked up at the two girls as if he was surprised to see them. "Sensei! We brought the things you asked for!" Sakura smiled at the man as she walked into the classroom first.

"W-where Daidouji-san?" He asked looking around nervously, fiddling with a handkerchief.

"I'm here Sensei." Tomoyo smiled gently from behind Sakura and placed the tubes with the others by the cabinet.

A strange look crossed his eyes as he looked at the elegant girl's back but disappeared before Sakura could identify what it was. He straightened and resumed his usual attitude, directing the girls in their task. As they finished he thanked them and the friends headed for the field where they were sure to find the rest of their group eating their lunch. Laughing with them Sakura felt a pair of eyes on her and shivered. Looking up she found the teacher peering at them, or her to be exact, with hate and shivered again but just as she was about to point it out he vanished.

' _What was that about?'_ she thought but her was distracted when she saw Tomoyo with her video camera out and everyone around her laughing. "Eh? What are you guys watching?" she asked curiously and scooted over to see.

On the camera was a younger version of her, maybe around ten, dressed head to toe in a pink magical girl outfit with a dozen balloons in one hand and a three tier cake in the other while she was wearing her skates. The outcome did not look good as she was asked to hold the objects in a flurry of confusion and then promptly bumped into. Sending her down a hill with no way to stop.

The series of events that followed were hysterical and as Sakura stared at the camera blankly it finally clicked, "Hooeeeeeiiii?!" Her eyes were wide and her face went a deep shade of pink not unlike the color she was wearing in the video. "To-Tomoyo when did you find the time to film this?!" If she recalled correctly that was during a party that friend's mother had set up and the girl had been busy talking to a bunch of adults after she had dressed the already confused Sakura in the costume.

Tomoyo just sighed dreamily and looked at the image on the screen, "You looked so cute with cake all over your face."

"C-cake?!"

School ended without another incident and with a promise that Sakura would come over to play for a bit at the Daidouji residence.

"After all mama has been complaining that she never gets to see you anymore." More than friends the girls were also cousins whose mothers had also grown up together.

"Okay! I'll wait for you here while you go to your club." Sakura chirped. She herself did cheer and track but often found herself helping out other sports clubs when they could track her down as she couldn't resist their desperate pleas. This was one day when she had nothing to do though so as she waited for Tomoyo to finish her choir activities she got a head start on her homework.

Looking at the paper in front of her the brunette scratched her head in confusion, "Wait, how did I do that?"

 **Ker-THUMP!**

A bump sounded in the hallway and Sakura looked up to see Uehara-sensei pass by. ' _What is he up to?'_ she thought and quickly packed up her stuff to follow him. She left a note for Tomoyo on her desk and slipped quietly out the door.

As he got outside she hesitated for a moment thinking that he was probably going home but her thoughts turned to the odd feeling she got from him every time he looked at Tomoyo and how every time he looked at her his gaze seemed to be filled with thinly veiled hate. Her mind was shouting at her to turn around but a smaller voice told her to follow.

She chose the quiet one.

The streets were empty and the sun was slowly setting, casting the sky with colors of yellow and orange, but still she followed him down many back streets till she no longer knew where she was. She no longer had the option to turn around. He turned the corner and Sakura ran so not to lose sight of him but as she got to the turn the teacher was nowhere to be found. "Where…?" she muttered looking around and spotted a lab coat entering a warehouse.

' _Why would he go there?'_ Standing in front of the rusted grey metal door she stared at it as if it would tell her all the answers without her needing to go in but alas it said nothing. Slowly she reached for the handle and winced as it creaked open. Frozen, Sakura waited in fear for something to happen but when nothing did she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and shut the door.

Darkness instantly surrounded her.

As her eyes adjusted she noted that there was a lot of shipping containers in the building and that it felt like a maze. ' _Maybe it is a maze.'_ Her heart beat wildly and her stomach was in knots as she felt her way along the containers towards where she could see light and as she got closer swore she could hear talking.

' _Who could he be talking to?'_ Inch by inch she crept closer till she could peek around a container and see him standing in front of a desk.

Quickly she swung her head back and placed her hands over her heart as if doing so would quiet the racket it was making. ' _There's no one else there!'_

Slowly she looked again and tried to process the scene before her. Lanterns were set upon barrels around what looked to be a makeshift office and behind the desk were pictures. She inched closer to get a better look and each one held an image of a pretty high school girl crossed out with a thick red X. One, she noticed, was bigger than the others and wasn't crossed out. In it was a beautiful girl with long greyish-violet hair, porcelain skin, and wide innocent purple eyes.

Tomoyo.

"What a pretty little flower you are Tomoyo-chan." Uehara ran a finger across the outline of her cheek and licked his lips, "Why, I would have collected you for my garden today if it wasn't for that pesky bug that is always with you." he snarled and curled his hand into a fist as he raged.

' _Is he talking about me?'_ Sakura watched quietly too afraid to move. Her legs shaked and threatened to give out but she clung to the wall desperately, not wanting to give herself away.

Uehara continued and smoothed out his hand, laying it flat against the picture as he calmed down and slowly smiled, "but I'll have you soon my dear and then I can admire you till my heart's content!" he turned and walked to something that was hanging a little ways away that Sakura hadn't noticed was there.

"Isn't that right darling?" he kissed what Sakura realized to be the dead body of a girl causing her to gasp as she backed away, seeing behind him more just like the first and all with faces eerily similar to the ones in the pictures.

Too late she covered her mouth and the man she once thought of as a teacher turned to glare in her direction. "Who's there!?" he shouted. His handsome face scrunched up into a hideous malicious mask of rage.

Backing up even farther Sakura shook with fear and tripped, "Ah!"

He came around the corner with a gun in his hand and a look of surprise on his face when he saw her then smirked, his eyes gleaming. "If it isn't the pesky insect. Kinomoto-san isn't past your bedtime? Flies need to sleep too don't they?"

As he edged closer Sakura scrambled backwards, "Ah, ah, AH!" she couldn't speak or scream as she looked at his as he truly was. A monster.

"Now don't be like that," Uehara fake pouted as if his feelings were hurt. She was stuck in a dead-end now but even with her back against a wall she was still trying desperately to get away from him.

The closer he came the harder she tried to see if she could phase through metal. Desperately she looked around for anything she could grab as a weapon, completely forgetting her self-defence training, and froze when she felt something cold touch her cheek. Slowly she felt the gun move down her face just like Mr. Uehara's finger had on her friend's picture.

With the gun under her chin he forced her to look up, her green eyes like that of a deer in front of headlights, her lips quivering. She finally knew what the look in his eyes was when he looked at Tomoyo. It was hunger and desire.

"Ne Sakura-chan?" he leaned closer and smelt her hair before whispering in her ear, "Why don't you become part of my garden, hm? Then you and Tomoyo can always stay together."

Once more she froze and as he kissed her neck he loosened his hold on his gun and Sakura shoved him as hard as she could.

She was mad now and determined to get away. As he flew backwards she jumped up and ran passed him as fast as she could, gunshots sailing by her. Running for her life he grabbed her arm and she let out a loud scream.

The next thing she knew someone had pounced on his back and she was shoved to the side. Slammed against a wall her head hit it hard and all she saw were two silhouettes fighting in the dark as she slid to the floor and lost consciousness.


	2. 2 To Catch a Killer

Disclaimer; I do not own the rights to CardCaptor Sakura nor CLAMP characters!

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 **Chapter 2. To Catch a Killer**

The full moon casted its light through the open paper doors and the windows of a large room, empty of all save a wooden curtain with a series of pillows and blankets behind it and a young woman pacing impatiently across the wide expanse. As she walked not quite gracefully but with the ease of a feline small bells jingled from the anklets and bracelets upon her hands and feet. Barefoot she wore a dress that clung to her curves in all the right places and flowed elegantly behind her, not quite touching the floor in the back and not quite reaching her knees in the front. Pale blue in the dim light it made it appear as if the small stars mixed among the bells were glowing, the sun on her right ear and the moon on her left doing the same, and the stars that held her long caramel hair in a high ponytail twinkling to their own song.

All who saw her refered to her as a princess. A priestess. A goddess. But at the moment she was just a girl worried about her friends and the people in the village below the mountain. Girls were going missing and more so as of late. It had taken them months to track down who it was and just as they were about to arrest him in the middle of his attempt to take another life the man had fled in fear.

The princess was determined to make the man known as Gorou the Herbalist pay for his crimes and was not going to let him get away. Her guards had told her that he was heading up the mountain but that had been hours ago and still the man had not been caught. At the moment she appeared to be alone. Vulnerable. An easy target if he chose to run to the castle for shelter as it was known to be practically empty of all life not including herself and the two men who were constantly by her side.

She knew better than that though. The people who lived here were good at acting invisible and often walked down halls that no one outside of the palace knew of, always ready to defend her or aid her in whatever it was she needed. It was how she could have a group of soldiers appear from the gates to patrol the city and caused people to speculate where they came from.

They weren't magic but the people of the town below could tell that the lady's home was brimming with it and treated her with awe and respect. For generations the mountain itself was considered to be a thing of magic and each generation of royalty was to tend to it and care for the people of her kingdom. Her mother had had the power but her parents died when she was young leaving her as the sole caretaker of the land.

In truth it was rumored that her own power was as great as the first ruler for since she was born strange noises were often heard beyond the walls and as she grew her guards never aged or changed. The princess didn't know if this was true as her memories of when she was young were foggy but she knew the beings she talked to were lonely and as a lonely girl herself couldn't ignore them.

Practically burning a hole in the wooden floor as she paced she could feel a pair of eyes on her now but said nothing as she knew the particular person who was watching wouldn't answer her even if she called.

"Where is he!" she muttered, arms crossed against her chest.

If her guards had lost him then all hope was lost. There was no way they could track him in the woods around here. The fauna had ways of playing tricks on people, making them think they were following the right trail and then leading them over the edge of a cliff. She shuttered. Hopeful that wasn't what had happened…

As her face was beginning to pale at the thought that was what happened she heard tapping on the open door. The bells clinked against her skin as she turned suddenly hoping to see— not who was there.

Her wide glistening eyes dimmed as she took on the tired form of a man dressed in a brown hakama, off-white/cream obi, green kimono, a short haori of the same shade of green, and a white button collar underneath. He looked tired not because she could see his face (that was covered by a fox mask) but because he was panting and folding under the weight of the woman he had in his arms.

"Bring her here." The princess said immediately as she took in the girl's bloody form. She rushed behind the curtain and brought out a mat and pillow to lay her down upon.

The kitsune placed her down gently and looked up at the princess, unsure what to do next but unwilling to let go of the hand of the lady.

The princess smiled at the fox that looked like a man and examined the patient before her. She wasn't a doctor but the kitsune had come to her for aid and didn't want to let the creature down. "Bring me two bowls; one of warm water and the other of cold, a couple of towels, a tincture, and some sake."

The fox nodded and without needing directions went after what was asked. The princess looked at him for a moment in wonder of what the two's story could be but soon turned back to the task at hand. Removing the bloodied kimono she was startled to see that it wasn't the girl's blood. Her chest was faintly rising and her breath smelt of… Dong Quai?

No. That herb slows the heart but it was used in medicine. It was a mixture of things she could not identify and reminded her very much of the case she was currently dealing with. The fox came back with the things she had asked and she started cleaning up the blood, gave her the tincture she was pretty sure she hadn't seen before, and laid a damp cloth against the woman's forehead.

"That's all I can do for now." She told the fox who nodded in responce but sighed in relief as he saw that the girl was already breathing better.

"Tell me. Was it Gorou?" She asked. She figured now would be the perfect time to interrogate him even if he wouldn't speak.

The fox man nodded.

"This was his latest attempt?"

Another nod.

"And you saved her?"

By the time she was done questioning him she had gathered that he was a low level kitsune who was badly injured months ago. She found out that the woman was named Ayame after the fox had grabbed an iris from her garden and that she took care of him thinking he was just an ordinary fox.

As the fox got better he slowly started falling for her but Ayame was infatuated by the man named Gorou. He could smell the bad stuff on him and tried everything he could to get her to stay away from him but he was still too weak be change out of his fox form. Last week he had left in order to finish recuperating but when he came back it was already too late.

Gorou had poisoned her with something that would both kill her yet slow the rotting process.

The blood on Ayame's kimono was from something that had occurred before the fox got there though how that had happened he wasn't too sure. He just got her the kitsune form of an antidote as fast as he could and hoped that he wasn't too late. After that he brought her to the castle knowing that it would be safe there.

The princess didn't question that as it has happened many times in the past with different spirits. They all considered her home on the mountain as a safe and pure sanctuary.

They sat quietly for a moment, the princess lost in thought and the kitsune changing the towel on Ayame's head when they heard a quiet moan, "Hideki…" she muttered and squeezed her eyes before relaxing back into a peaceful slumber.

The fox man immediately grabbed her hand and looked at the princess in a panic. She just smiled in response, "She'll be okay, she's just resting now."

He relaxed and let go.

"Hideki. Is that your name?"

He nodded and pointed at the sleeping beauty as if to say, _She gave it to me._

"It's a good strong name." The fox man appeared to beam at her as she got up and patted him on the head, making her way out of the room.

Outside she leaned against the railing and looked at the garden before her. It was beautiful and often calmed her heart but that night it did nothing to soothe her worries. ' _Where are they?'_ she thought, not for the first time since she sent her guard to collect the murderer.

She didn't trust anyone else with this mission as her two guards were special yet she was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake. If she didn't have them by her side then she was nothing. Not even a princess.

Looking back into the room she saw that the kitsune had resumed its fox form and was curled up against the lady's side. Her arm resting on top of him. The princess chuckled then sighed, a frown forming on her face as she continued her pacing in the hallway.

"Milady."

The princess jumped, turned, and scowled at man before her, "Where have you been!" she exclaimed throwing her hands up in exasperation.

The man shifted uncomfortably in his kneeled position with a hand over his heart. His tanned face making a grave expression as he looked towards the ground. "I'm… Sorry, milady." His shaggy wild butterscotch colored hair fell in front of his face as he grieved.

As the princess processed his words she hung her head in sorrow. There was no way this man would stop harming others. If not here then somewhere else he would carry on his ploy and they would have no way to stop him. "Curses!" she gritted out between closed lips. Her eyes clenched shut she punched the beam in shame that she couldn't give as the girls who had died the freedom they deserve.

A giggle sounded in her ear.

Looking over she blinked as she saw two small figures standing on the railing. One looked like a pixie with a large feathered ear, a green six point star on its forehead, and a smirk on its face while the other was a more somber fellow in a black hood and cloak. Its face and body remaining unseen.

"Sleep... Shadow..." The princess raised her head and stared at them in wonder as a plan started to form in her head, "You guys… want to help?"

Sleep giggled his twinkling laughter again clapping his hands and disappeared. Shadow just stood there and soon followed his fellow magical being.

The princess stood there for a moment, her thoughts reeling as she gaped at were her helpers had been standing on the ledge, and turned around. The bell on her body jingling once more as she marched down the hallway with fierce determination.

Yes. Just like the people of the village thought her home was surrounded by magic. But the very nature of that magic was bound to nothing except their chosen master. If the princess left then no magic would be left there and the castle would remain exactly as it was. An ancient relic bound to someday crumble.

"Pr-Princess! You couldn't be possibly wanting to…"

She ignored her guard as she quickened her paced down the halls. As was his duty he followed and tried to convince her not to go through with her plan but she was already at the door of the room she was looking for.

Halting in front of the door she held a hand up to stop the guard's sputtering. "Cerberus." The guard shut his mouth and gulped, "Where's Yue?"

"I—"

"I'm here mistress." A man with a stoic expression and silver-blue cat like eyes stepped out from the shadows. His long shining moon-white hair, even longer than the princess's, draped around his feet in a loose twist.

Smiling at the man's aloofness she caressed his cheek tenderly knowing he was just as much affected by the situation as they were. "The moon is strong tonight."

He nodded, "Should make it easier…"

"Wait, Yue! You don't plan to go along with this do you? Your highness you're not strong enough yet!" Cerberus fretted, his own golden cat like eyes lit with worry.

"Kero-chan." The guard stopped and looked at her in pain. A look that she returned with a sad smile, "I need you."

As if he was about to crumble and wilt away he looked at her and closed his eyes. Taking a breath he steeled himself and straightened, "As you wish princess."

She kissed him on the cheek and promised him a slice of cake once everything was over before entering the room. It was full of books and everything seemed to be covered in dust except to a large red covered novel that sat closed on a podium. Instead of heading towards it she moved off to the side of the room and walked up a creaky old staircase that was practically hidden behind the shelves.

The steps creaked and she could sense her guards following behind her as she made her way up but didn't stop until she reached the top. Muttering something softly under her breath she opened the trapdoor and peered out into the moonlight. The moon was closer now and she could see far beyond the village fields down below and the top of the tree covered mountain as she stepped onto the cleared expanse.

It was the highest area in the princess's fortress and was perfect for what she was about to do. Waiting for her two guards to finish climbing up she watched them for a moment then turned around and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath everything faded away till all that was left was her, Kero, and Yue.

The guards said nothing as they waited, the princess just kept her slow even breathing and stood patiently with her eyes closed. In the nothingness the sound of a water dropping in a pool echoed around them, ' _There.'_ She thought and opened her mouth.

"Shadow." She called out into the dark while Kero closed his eyes and lit up in gold.

Another drop sounded.

"Sleep." This time it was Yue's turn to glow but in silver.

The princess slowly opened her eyes to see Shadow and Sleep floating in front of her, quietly waiting for instructions.

"With your Shadow you shall track him down in the full moon light. With your will you shall put him into a deep Sleep in which he shall not awake till Time deems him ready. Go, and let my will be done to the man named Gorou Uehara."

The two rushed off and chased away the dark and revealing the night as her guards followed, each with a pair of wings on their backs that wasn't there before. Smiling triumphantly she knew they were going to win this time. Her legs finally giving out the princess watched the gold and silver angels fly off towards the moon with heavy eyes.

"Rest now Sakura…" was the last thing she heard before she fell into oblivion.

In the many floors below her the red bound book laid open to the empty pages where two familiar figures used to be.

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Woo-hoo! Got chapter two done. ^-^  
This chapter was in the dream world and while things may  
seem a little confusing at the moment... it'll probably get  
a whole lot more confusing! Hehe it'll all make sense eventually...


End file.
